Search

The development of an economy is oriented towards not only growth but also equality. Furthermore, economic interaction across regions has to be captured in a development analysis to avoid the possibility of biased results. This study analyzes Central Java, Indonesia's economic development, by considering spatial interactions across regencies. The Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) is used for the analysis. The results show significant spatial interaction across regencies/cities in Central Java in the spatial model and economic convergence that occurs faster than in the non-spatial model. Then, the mismatch between the curriculum of education and industry needs is a presumption illustrated in the insignificant relationship of human capital to income. And an anomaly occurs where physical capital has a negative impact on income.

The most important trends in the modern economy are convergence – the process of convergence of activities of various economic entities and digitalization. Their interaction creates new opportunities for increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of insurance companies. The purpose of the paper is to identify economic convergence processes taking place on the Russian insurance market, which, when using different digitalization products, lead to new business models of partnership. The results of the conducted empirical analysis confirm the existence of economic convergence processes at all levels (intra-segment, intersegment and inter-sectoral) on the Russian insurance market. The proof of this is the significant reduction in the number of insurers in 2021 to 158, compared to 600 insurers in 2011. Over the past three years, the share of sales of insurance products with the participation of banks acting as intermediaries in the sales of insurance services has increased by 1.5 times. Also, along with insurance companies, health care companies have increasingly become involved in such operations. Digitalization products (information technologies (IT); IT and IT platforms; IT, IT platforms and networks) have a huge impact on the forms of organizing joint business with the participation of insurance companies. Some insurance companies do not provide opportunities to issue an insurance policy online or pay an insurance premium, i.e. they use sites for only minor customer interactions. Most often, Russian insurance companies use mobile applications. The impact of various digitalization products at different levels of economic convergence of insurers initiates multivariate business models of joint business.

The paper evaluates the convergence paths of Central and Eastern European member states of the EU during the 2010s, when the main task for these countries was avoiding the middle-income trap—when wages are not so low anymore to compete with less developed countries, while innovation is not developed enough yet to compete with developed countries. Using various statistical indicators, the paper shows that while most countries in the region have been on a convergence path during the decade under analysis, not all succeeded in avoiding the trap. While some countries successfully implemented policies to step on the path of productivity- and innovation-led growth (Czechia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Lithuania), in several other states, growth was supported mainly by low costs and loose monetary conditions including significant transfers from the EU. The comparative analysis of Estonia and Hungary illustrates the different growth models and shows how the institutional system plays a key role in exiting the trap.

Despite the significant academic interest in the economic cohesion, the various aspects of convergence and the ways they can be measured still remain theoretically unclear. These are issues of extreme political significance, especially for countries aspiring for EU and euro area membership. The goal of this paper is to consolidate a variety of theoretical views on the convergence and its measurement and use it as the basis to assess the progress and the current state of economic convergence to the EU of the four candidate countries. The interrelation between the three forms of convergence in the different phases of the economic cycle is studied and the slobs in the ways the convergence is measured are outlined. The study reveals large differences between the candidate countries in achieving convergence with the EU. Their experiences do not confirm the positive relationship between nominal and real convergence. The structural convergence considered as convergence of sectoral structure has but little impact on the real convergence.

Migration has far-reaching implications for regional-economic growth and spatial disparities. This paper explores the role played by migration in spatial-economic development in Romania, a country that is facing large and persistent regional disparities. We develop a spatial-econometric model for studying the impact of migration movements in Romania (both domestic and international) on regional welfare patterns in this country. Employing a one-lag spatial dynamic panel model for the period 1995–2015 and accounting for the endogeneity of migration and human capital, our findings reveal that migration clearly adds to divergence. The composition effect outweighs the neoclassical quantitative effect and thus, migration undermines convergence. When migration inflows foster growth by skills-selectivity and strengthening agglomeration economies in richer destination regions, migration outflows appear to inhibit growth in source regions. Spatiality also matters, as regions turn out to grow faster when neighbouring other regions with a high development level, due to spillover effects. However, the clustering tendency of regions with a similar development level undermines convergence. In policy terms, our findings emphasize the need of economic incentives for raising human capital and investment stocks in regions that are lagging behind. This translates also into a strong argument in favour of EU Cohesion policy that can leverage the competitiveness–cohesion trade-off by increasing connectivity between regions and improving their business environment.

The most important trends in modern social development are economic convergence and digitalization. It is their interaction that creates new opportunities for increasing competitiveness and efficiency in the framework of joint business of representatives of various segments and sectors of the economy. The main institutional and organizational form of doing business within the framework of intersectoral economic convergence under the influence of digitalization is becoming an ecosystem. The aim of the article is to clarify the concept of an ecosystem as a form of joint business in the context of intersectoral economic convergence and digitalization, as well as to build a classification of ecosystems. The study puts forward the following hypothesis the ecosystem as an institutional and organizational form of running a joint business is the result of the simultaneous influence of intersectoral economic convergence and digitalization on it, and “the connection of the basic product provided to the client by the initiator of the intersectoral economic convergence before the creation of the ecosystem with digital and/or information technology ”can be used for the economic ecosystems classification. The novelty of the approach is the following. Considering an ecosystem as a form of joint business running with the simultaneous impact of economic intersectoral convergence and digitalization on it makes it possible to clarify the concept of an ecosystem, highlight as the ecosystem parameter used to the ecosystem classify and as its main characteristic, the values of which can be used to construct a classification of economic ecosystems.

The purpose of this paper is the study of the convergence of the economies of Nigeria and Cameroon. Are these neighboring countries with an increasingly high level of trade converging? It thus seeks, on the one hand, to verify whether the standards of living (income per capita) of the two economies tend to approach each other over time and, on the other hand, to determine the time necessary for the two countries to fill by half the gap that separates them. Ben David's (1996) empirical model is estimated using WDI time series. The results show that Cameroon reduces the per capita income gap that separates it from Nigeria. The half-life of the convergence process indicates that Cameroon will manage to close half of the gap that separates it from Nigeria in 37 years, all things remaining equal. Thus, if Cameroon wants to accelerate its catch-up, the improvement of its savings rate, its labor productivity and its economic growth rate must be at the heart of economic policies., Repères et Perspectives Economiques, Vol. 6, No 1 (2022)

Tighter competition of any economic entities leads to the use of such a mechanism to combat it as economic convergence — the rapprochement of the activities of various economic entities, aimed at increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of its participants. At the same time, the most important modern trend in social development is digitalization, which also has an impact on convergence processes in the economy. Disclosure of the impact of digitalization on convergence processes includes consideration of the stages of development of digitalization, levels of convergence, their relationship, as well as identifying the directions and results of the impact of the last stage of digitalization on modern economic convergence. The results of the study are the identified parameters of economic convergence and their content, the disclosure of the business model characteristics of entrepreneurial activity within the framework of modern economic convergence, the possibilities of joint business implemented by intersectoral convergence, as well as the prerequisites of joint business due to the influence of the digitalization factor on all these processes. Keywords: economic convergence, convergence parameters, digitalization, business model of entrepreneurial activity within the framework of intersectoral economic convergence, prerequisites for the effectiveness of joint business.

The European Union has overcome complex challenges since its foundation, being considered a successful story and a guarantor of political and economic stability within the European continent. However, the subsequent waves of enlargement of the European group have been accompanied by an increase of economic and social disparities between countries and regions. The main purpose of this paper is to study income convergence in the European Union by focusing on the regions at NUTS 2 level. In this respect, we have tested the neoclassical growth model assumptions, using the (unconditional) β- and σ-convergence indicators for 236 regions between 2000 and 2018. We have also tried to identify the winning regions of the catching-up process in Central and Eastern Europe. Our study confirms the neoclassical growth model assumptions considering that the less developed regions from Central and Eastern Europe experienced higher GDP growth rates than the developed ones. However, in some Central and Eastern European countries, the improvement of the economic performances of the capitals was accompanied by an increase of income disparities at national level. Overall, our study suggests that Central and Eastern European regions have made impressive progress since 2000, the main winners being the capitals. In contrast, some of the regions from Southern Europe are on a downward path, with negative growth rates, which pose into question the objective of convergence in the European Union.

This paper analyzes the European innovation framework focusing on four Eurozone candidates: Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic. In the last decades, almost two-thirds of Europe’s economic growth has been driven by innovation. This idea is supported by impressive scientific findings concerning the correlation between innovation and economic growth. We believe that better innovation performance stimulates economic convergence and in the long term, facilitates the candidates’ transition towards Euro currency adoption. The countries in the study demonstrate a low innovative performance pattern, as our SWOT analysis will show. First, the gross domestic expenditure on research and development levels are far below the Union average. Secondly, there is a lack of cooperation between the academic and business sector, leading to a decreasing number of skilled personnel in the innovation industries. Lastly, these countries are suffering from an incoherent strategy aimed at reducing the productivity gap between domestic and foreign-owned firms. In order for these CEE Eurozone candidates to improve their European Innovation Score and their competitiveness, we recommend increasing investments in R&D, infrastructure, education, healthcare, clean energy and shifting towards higher value-added activities. We are also suggesting supporting digital innovation hubs, the creation of new companies, and facilitating access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses.

Maģistra darba mērķis ir novērtēt ES kohēzijas politikas efektivitāti, identificēt būtiskākos faktorus, kas ietekmē to ietekmē un pielietot izstrādāto metodiku Latvijas reģioniem. Īpašs uzsvars likts uz faktoru, kas ietekmē ES kohēzijas politikas īstenošanas efektivitāti, noteikšanu. Pielietojot daudzfaktoru lineāro regresiju, kurā vidējais IKP uz vienu iedzīvotāju pieaugums ir indikators ekonomiskai attīstībai, tika konstatēts, ka būtiskākie efektivitāti ietekmējošie faktori ir pārvaldības kvalitāte, tai skaitā, korupcijas līmenis, un bezdarba līmenis. Mazāka, bet arī nozīmīga ir iedzīvotāju skaita izmaiņu, izglītības līmeņa un sociālo aspektu ietekme. Latvijā efektivitāti mazina arī centralizēta un nozarēs balstīta pieeja., The master thesis aims to provide efficiency assessment of the EU Cohesion Policy, evaluate factors influencing efficiency and apply the approach to Latvian regions. Special research focus is on determination of the major factors causing considerable differences in the efficiency of the EU Cohesion policy funding in reducing regional inequalities considerably differs among the EU and Latvian regions. By using multiple linear regression and average GDP per capita growth as indicator of economic development, it is determined that the major factors influencing the efficiency of the cohesion policy are governance quality, including levels of corruption and unemployment rates. Minor, but significant impact on efficiency is to population change, educational profile of the region and social aspects in the society. In Latvia sectoral approach and centralisation are additional factors.

We propose a new and time-varying optimum currency area (OCA) index for the euro area in assessing the evolution of the OCA properties of the monetary union from an international business cycle perspective. It is derived from the relative importance of symmetric vs. asymmetric shocks that result from a sign and zero restricted open-economy structural vector autoregression (VAR) model. We argue that the euro area is more appropriate through the lens of empirical OCA properties when the relative importance of common symmetric shocks is high, but, at the same time, is not overly dispersed across euro area member countries. We find that symmetric shocks have been the dominant drivers of business cycles across euro area countries. Our OCA index, nevertheless, shows that cyclical convergence among euro area members is not a steady process as it tends to be disrupted by crises, especially those not primarily triggered by common external shocks. In the aftermath of a crisis the OCA index embarks on a recovery trajectory catching up with its pre-crisis level. Our OCA index is slow-moving and a good reflection of changing underlying economic structures across the euro area and, therefore, informative about the ability of monetary policy to stabilise the euro area economy in the medium run.

Convergence has always been considered the fundamental economic mechanism and precondition for achieving socio-economic cohesion in the European Union, so an important task for the Romanian Government is to reduce regional disparities in Romania. In this paper we will attempt to perform a descriptive analysis of inequality and convergence between and within CEE states using the most recent available data of relevant indicators for the analyzed topic.

Recently a new set of sophisticated econometric and statistical methods, as non-linear panel data, spatial models, cointegration, unit root tests and so on, have been bringing back the classic discussion about economic development process. In this paper we discuss about the classical, new literature and empirical applications made about two main viewpoints. Firstly, the process of development for the developing countries toward their objective of being high-income countries and the trouble they face known as Middle-Income Trap (MIT, hereinafter). The second one, the development process inside countries toward the unique steady state. In this sense, we discuss the literature related with regional convergence and its variations. The intent of these two viewpoints is the relevance for the growth and development economic literature related to the catch up process that economic units might have through them. Countries try to reach a certain income level, close the gaps between them but some of them face difficulties on that process. Regions are not different, they also try to close gaps between them. To sum up, the main objective of this survey is to show the literature discussion about these two viewpoints of development process amongst countries and amongst regions under two different perspectives and levels of the same problem, close gaps between economic units.

Evaluating real convergence or divergence in the EU is challenging because it is diffi cult to fi nd an appropriate counterfactual or comparison benchmark, or to formulate one. Should we compare the status quo with convergence that would have been obtained had the European Union (EU) never existed? Or under different monetary arrangements - fl exible or fi xed exchange rates, or a monetary union? With or without deep trade integration, or factor mobility as in the United States? I will exploit recent research and discuss real convergence in the EU, using the new and old German Bundesländer (states) since reunifi cation as a foil for the integration process. German unifi cation provides an excellent laboratory: an economy populated by Europeans with labour and capital mobility unimpeded by national boundaries, trade barriers, or culture, tradition and institutions after 1990.

The topic of the Intereconomics/CEPS conference for which this paper was written was framed as a question: convergence or divergence in the EU? I am prepared to give an unambiguous answer. That answer is yes.

Wide-ranging reforms linked to Georgia's EU aspirations have strengthened its economy and improved living standards. Nevertheless, further reforms are still needed and the Covid-19 pandemic has had a big impact on the hospitality sector, which has been a key driving force behind the country's strong growth in recent years. To continue its economic convergence with the EU, Georgia needs to strengthen the conditions for its private sector to thrive. This report aims to identify the key challenges and opportunities for promoting private sector development and investment in Georgia. Written and researched together with the EBRD, it reviews the political and economic environment and then digs deeper into issues of public and private governance, human capital formation, gender inequalities and access to finance, particularly for SMEs. The report also looks at Georgia's external competitiveness and its infrastructure needs, with a particular focus on the energy sector in the context of climate change.

The economic development of Russian border regions is accompanied by a high level of interregional disparities both within the group of border regions and across the country. The purpose of the article is to assess the degree of interregional inequality of border regions in comparison with inner ones. Based on the key indicator of regional economic development, Gross Regional Product (GRP) per capita, various indicators of interregional inequality (coefficients of variation, the ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value, the Gini and Theil coefficients) were calculated, and σ-convergence and absolute β-convergence were estimated. Estimations of all indicators show that sharp changes in inequality, as well as the level of interregional inequality itself, are characteristic of border regions. For the interior regions, the dynamics are smoother, and the degree of inequality is significantly lower. This allows concluding that the main reason for the formation of interregional inequalities in Russia is inter-regional inequality in the group of border regions.

Convergence in per capita emissions occurs when countries with higher initial levels of per capita emissions experience lower emission growth than countries with lower initial levels of per capita emissions. The recent literature adopts the notion of stochastic convergence, which implies that per capita emissions tend to converge to a stationary level over time. The empirical literature on emissions convergence has yielded mixed results. We present new panel stationarity tests that account for cross-correlations and structural breaks. These new tests are more general than previous tests for stochastic convergence. Using annual data for 13 OPEC countries and 18 non-OPEC oil-producing countries from 1960 to 2016, we find less evidence of stochastic convergence than previous studies. The absence of convergence in per capita emissions across countries could hinder the acceptance of climate agreements based on the allocation of per capita emissions obligations. Policy actions to address emissions growth are also discussed.

Central Eastern European Countries (CEECs) went through a process of deep financial integration with advanced European countries, spurred by the entry in the European Union. Financial integration took place through an unprecedented entry of foreign banks in local banking markets, which led to a rapid expansion of credit and often credit booms. The global financial crisis produced a bust of these booms, with severe effects on the real economy. These dynamics raised the question of whether CEECs experienced a phenomenon of “too much credit” or “too much credit growth.”

Po svojoj najjednostavnijoj definiciji, kohezijska politika je strategija Europske unije za promicanje i potporu sveobuhvatnog skladnog razvoja svojih država članica i regija. Smanjenje razvojnih razlika osobito je važno u djelovanju Europske unije, što se deklarativno odražava na strukturalnu politiku koju provodi, kao i na strateške dokumente koji se stvaraju. Ovo je pitanje posebno važno u odnosu na zemlje Srednje i Istočne Europe, koje su u mnogo nižem stupnju ekonomskog razvoja u odnosu na ostale države Europske unije. Ulazak u Europsku uniju podrazumijevalo je ekonomsko približavanje zapadnoeuropskim životnim standardima. Pristup jedinstvenom tržištu stvorio je nove poslovne prilike, pokrenuo ogromne prilive kapitala u nove države članice i olakšao njihovu integraciju u globalne opskrbne lance. Iako i danas ostaje značajan jaz, smanjuje se brzim tempom. U ovom radu pridaje se posebna pozornost i Europskim strukturnim i investicijskim fondovima koji su glavni katalizator u tom cjelokupnom nastojanju skladnog rasta i razvoja. Provode se u okviru kohezijske politike i dostupni su svima kojima je potrebno. Unatoč činjenici da kohezijska politika ima za cilj više od čisto ekonomske konvergencije, smanjenje regionalnih nejednakosti u razini razvoja uglavnom se mjeri konvergencijom regionalnih razina bruto društvenog proizvoda po glavi stanovnika u odnosu na prosjek Europske unije, kretanja na tržištu rada, inozemnim suradnjama, odnosno ulaganjima, konvergencijom dohodaka, te raznim drugima. Između ostalog, rad se bavi komparativnom analizom među državama, opisnom analizom podataka i usporedbom proračunskih razdoblja koji uvelike određuju budućnost djelovanja kohezijske politike i svih njezinih komponenti. By its simplest definition, cohesion policy is the European Union's strategy to promote and support the overall harmonious development of its Member States and regions. Reducing development disparities is particularly important in the functioning of the European Union, which is declaratively reflected in the structural policy it pursues, as well as in the strategic documents that are being created. This issue is particularly important in relation to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which are at a much lower level of economic development compared to other countries of the European Union. Joining the European Union meant economic approximation to Western European living standards. Access to the single market has created new business opportunities, triggered huge capital inflows into the new Member States and facilitated their integration into global supply chains. Although a significant gap remains today, it is shrinking at a rapid pace. This paper also pays special attention to the European Structural and Investment Funds, which are the main catalyst in this overall effort of harmonious growth and development. They are implemented within the framework of cohesion policy and are available to all who need it. Despite the fact that cohesion policy aims at more than purely economic convergence, the reduction of regional inequalities in the level of development is mainly measured by the convergence of regional levels of gross domestic product per capita compared to the EU average, labor market trends, foreign cooperation and investment. income convergence, and various others. Among other things, the paper deals with comparative analysis between countries, descriptive data analysis and comparison of budget periods that largely determine the future of cohesion policy and all its components.

The following results of our investigation were obtained: -The convergence, including economic convergence, its factors and indicators identified in the research can be used to analyze the process of economic development, which is especially important to national sustainability of the country; -The economic convergence of Lithuania in the context of EU-28 can help eliminate social exclusion in Lithuania and its regions; -We argue that there is a need for comprehensive analysis of economic convergence factors and their impact for economic development in Lithuania. -The above observations allow us to summarize that the determination of different types of convergence, various factors of economic convergence helps to increase economic harmonization in the EU-28, including Lithuania.

Justice is the most important principle in Islam and measures the extent to which decisions in Islamic countries comply with Islamic doctrine. Economic justice is a sub-domain of justice and is further subdivided to distributive justice. Distributive justice implies that improvement in economic well-being of an individual occurs to the detriment of another’s. The present study investigates economic convergence of Islamic justice in selected Islamic countries (Albania, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Niger, Pakistan, Senegal, Tajikistan, Turkey, Yemen And Tunisia) during 1995–2015 using beta-type convergence and generalized method of moment. It is argued that growth rate of income distribution in communities that suffer from bad income distribution system will move in the long run towards fair distribution. Results of absolute beta convergence indicate convergence of Gini coefficient at rate of 0.31. The Gini coefficient is significant at 1%. Moreover, results of conditional beta convergence reveal convergence of Gini coefficient. Inflation rate and GDP positively affect this convergence.

В статье даны результаты проверки гипотезы о межсегментной конвергенции как этапе развития экономической конвергенции. Сближение направлено на создание эффективного бизнеса и повышение конкурентоспособности его участников. Его специфика определяется влиянием факторов и предпосылок, способствующих межсегментной конвергенции. Основано на сотрудничестве или проникновении одного экономического субъекта в деятельность другого. Результаты анализа могут быть использованы в оценке последствий конвергенции для ее инициаторов и других участников., The article presents the results of testing the hypothesis of inter-segment convergence as a stage in the development of economic convergence. The rapprochement is aimed at creating an effective business and increasing the competitiveness of its participants. Its specificity is determined by the influence of factors and prerequisites that promote inter-segment convergence. It is based on the cooperation or penetration of one economic entity into the activity of another. The results of the analysis can be used in assessing the consequences of convergence for its initiators and other participants., Экономика и предпринимательство, Выпуск 5 (118) 2020

В статье даны результаты проверки гипотезы о соответствии бизнес-модели предпринимательской деятельности в рамках межсегментной конвергенции целям ее участников. Показано, что эффективность бизнеса для инициаторов конвергенции определяется учетом влияния в нем факторов и предпосылок, способствующих межсегментной конвергенции. Для остальных участников результаты сближения могут быть разными. Именно поэтому результаты анализа могут быть использованы при оценке последствий конвергенции для всех ее участников., The article gives the results of testing the hypothesis that the business model of entrepreneurial activity in the framework of inter-segment convergence is the goals of its participants. It is shown that business performance for convergence initiators is determined by taking into account the influence of factors and prerequisites that facilitate inter-segment convergence. For other participants, the results of rapprochement may be different. That is why the results of the analysis., Экономика и предпринимательство, Выпуск 5 (118) 2020

Energy/oil trade has formed large part of the World trade since its usage has been increased in time and became an important factor of production in the World via an important input in agricultural sector along with usage of intensive mechanization in it. Therefore, fluctuations in diesel prices in the World have influenced the cost of production up and down. In oil importing developed and developing countries, another reason of the fluctuations in diesel prices following up increases in world oil price has been induced by higher tax on oil levied by incumbent governments. On the one side, higher tax on oil increases tax income for government; however, this high tax rate negatively can affect agricultural sector in terms of agricultural products’ export and import rate, added value, prices of these products etc. In regard of our case in the paper, levied tax rate creates different diesel prices in the member countries of the OECD. The aim of this study initially is to test the relationship between diesel prices and agricultural productivity and then, to search for another chain relationship between the productivity and economic growth rate in developed and developing countries in the OECD. In short, we propose a study which analysis how diesel price fluctuations can affect economic convergence across OECD countries in terms of agricultural productivity in a multifaceted sense. For this reason, we assemble data for a panel of OECD countries for 19982009 to test the variables such as diesel prices, tax rates on diesel, quantity indices of agricultural products’ export and import, agricultural good prices, and economic growth rates. It is important to determine how agricultural policy convergences have affected macroeconomic convergences with the sample covering before and after the crises period (from the early 1990s to 2008). We use the World Bank, Eurostat, and FAO databases from different sources. However, by any account, conventional economic wisdom suggests that growth and increasing integration in the body of OECD leads to some sort of economic convergence. This convergence should occur in terms of percapita output and other important macroeconomic variables, at least in the conditional sense of Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1992, 1995), i. e. controlling for heterogeneity across countries. We conclude that tax levy on diesel oil has affected agricultural products export and import ratios of some countries in the OECD. Hence, this study carries out an important role for policy guidance for future.

Bu çalışmanın amacı İslam İşbirliği Teşkilatı'na üye elli yedi ülkenin iktisadi kulüp yansımasını Phillips ve Sul (2007).tarafından geliştirilern log t metodolojisi ile sınamaktır. Çalışmada 1990-2017 yılları arasındaki kişi başına düşen milli gelir kullanmaktadır. Sonuçlar iki adet yakınyasan kulüp ile bir adet uyuşmayan ülkenin varlığına işaret etmektedir. Ayrıca yakınyasan kulüp sayısının zamanla azaldığı görülmektedir. Örneğin 2008'deki altı kulüp sayısı 2007'de dörde inmekte; 2011'de ise ikiye düşmektedir. Herne kadar bir organizasyondaki kulüp sayısının azalması iyi bir işaret olarak gözükse de üst gelir grubundaki ülkelerin daha aşağıdakilerle birleşiyor olması onların da gelirlerinin düşmesine işaret etmektedir.Anahtar kelimeler: iktisadi yakınsama, Kulüp yakınsaması, İslam İşbirliği Örgütü, log t test This study aims to find the convergence club among the fifty-seven members of the Organization of Islamic organization using the log t-test methodology developed by Phillips and Sul (2007). The GDP Per capita of years between 1990-2017 is used to find convergence clubs. The results show the existence of a two-convergence club and one divergent country. Moreover, the conclusion drawn from this study shows that the number of convergence clubs changes over time. For example, the number of clubs dropped from six clubs in 2007 to four clubs in 2008. And the number of convergence clubs dropped again in 2011 from four clubs to two clubs. Even though having fewer clubs within an organization might be a good sign, but in this case, it shows that the number of countries with high GDP, merged towered club with low GDP, a negative convergence.Keywords: Convergence, OIC, Club, Beta, t-log test 52

The goal of this monograph is to assess the course of convergence processes occurring in European housing markets and to identify the effects of this convergence. The publication is part of research on the housing sector carried out in many countries. However, it presents not only the most frequently conducted studies on price convergence but is also characterised by a broader perspective, taking into account real and institutional convergence of housing markets. An attempt has been also made to indicate the reasons for this phenomenon and its effects. It is addressed to a wide audience: people researching the theory of economic growth, individuals professionally interested in the issues related to the functioning of real estate markets, and especially to students of programmes that have included real estate issues in their curricula. This publication is part of the project that has received funding from The Polish National Science Centre under the grant agreement No UMO-2016/21/B/HS4/00750

В статье даны результаты проверки гипотезы о соответствии бизнес-модели предпринимательской деятельности в рамках современной экономической конвергенции целям ее участников. Показано, что основным фактором современной конвергенции является цифровизация, позволяющая так изменить предпосылки и другие факторы конвергенции, что совместный бизнес становится эффективным для всех участников, но в разной степени. Результаты анализа могут быть использованы при оценке последствий конвергенции для всех ее участников., The article presents the results of testing the hypothesis that the business model of entrepreneurial activity in the framework of modern economic convergence is within the goals of its participants. It isshown that the main factor in modern convergence is digitalization, which allows changing the background and other convergence factors so that joint business becomes effective for all participants, but to a different extent. The results of the analysis can be used to assess the consequences of convergence for all of its participants., Экономика и предпринимательство, Выпуск 6 (119) 2020

Do Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund contribute to the improvement of economic performance across Slovak districts? In order to answer the question this thesis explores the impact of EU funds invested within specific operational programmes over the programming periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 on the decrease in unemployment rate and on the increase in real wage and employment rate. Besides the standard panel data regression technique we also apply a spatial autoregressive model due to the presence of spillover effects between regions. This thesis thus goes beyond the existing literature on the evaluation of the impact of EU funds in Slovakia as it incorporates spatial effects in the analysis. In comparison with the results of the baseline fixed effects model, the estimated impact of EU funds in the spatial autoregressive model is smaller and in certain cases even negative. Hence the results raise doubts about the efficiency of EU funds. Furthermore, after including the spatial effects we find that the existence and significance of the economic convergence across Slovakia depends not only on the chosen economic indicator but also on the specification of regional units.

This paper opens up a study of economic convergence in Asia. This convergence refers to the ability of developing economies to catch up with the developed ones in terms of levels and growth rates of real per capita GDP. The study uses the lens of neoclassical growth models, both the basic models of Robert Solow and Trevor Swan, along with the models of Robert Lucas Jr. and Paul Romer in endogenous growth theory to interpret observed growth in Asia. Data are taken from the 45 developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank. The study supports conditional convergence but not absolute convergence. That is the lagging economies can catch up with the leading economies provided the former can adopt advanced technologies, such as, those that feature human-capital investments, learning-by-doing and increasing returns from knowledge accumulation.

The joint Intereconomics/CEPS conference focused on income convergence among EU countries and within specific countries like Germany and Italy. I would like to first caution about overinterpreting these results and then look at other divergences within the Eurozone, which I regard as much more important.

The aim of this article is to identify a possible risks generated by the Euro adoption for the Romanian economy, starting from the costs identified by the Optimal Currency Area theory. In this respect, we analyse the degree of convergence of Romanian economy related to the Euro Area. We use for this comparison of the Structural Convergence Index and the Index of Occupational Convergence, the Commercial Integration Degree using the trade intensity, and the Synchronization Degree of Business Cycles of Romania with the Euro Area through the analysis of correlation coefficients for business activity indicators i.e. GDP and Industrial Production Index. The background of the economic crisis was a test for the perspectives of Euro adoption by Romania; where, the negative external shock was transmitted through the trade channels with foreign partners. The monetary policy of the country proved to be inefficient in neutralizing the corresponding negative effects. The solution envisaged by the authorities was the use of an external adjustment mechanism rather than an internal one. However, in this case, the negative effects of the crisis will persist in the economy and will increase the adoption costs under the circumstances of a structural divergence between the Romanian economy and the Euro Area.

The increasing pace of achieving socio-economic growth and convergence into developed structures represents the main desire of most countries. Moreover, membership in monetary unions has quite a significant impact on the economies of participating countries, since integration processes have become undoubtedly the undisputed accelerator of convergence and integration catalyst, reflecting on the development of the world economy. The growing intensity of world trade, the ever-deepening division of labor and specialization, international movement of capital and labor mobility as wells as investments into education, research and development, innovations are among the factors that lead to the creation of increasingly closer ties between economies, deepening their mutual dependence, further reflected in knowledge-based societies. Thus, the close ties between national economies themselves represent a further incentive for more intensive cooperation through the different stages of economic integration. International economic integration is an objective to promote a gradual process of linking and connecting existing economic units, i.e. national economies to the greater interconnected units in the global economy. The aim of our research paper, by using the methods of analysis and comparison, is to closely present the issue of monetary integration, focusing on the impact of monetary integration on countries’ economy, resulting in the issue of benefits and costs of the countries’ entry into the monetary union, associated with initial economic shocks.

Mestrado em Economia e Gestão de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação Este é um estudo de carácter exploratório que procura captar aspectos essenciais da evolução do sistema de patentes em escala global. Para o primeiro questionamento – haverá um catch-up entre patentes per capitas? - verificamos que há o movimento de convergência, baseado no Beta negativo encontrado em todos os modelos apresentados. A manutenção desse movimento aproximará os países com menor produção de patentes daqueles que com maiores números neste quesito. Quantos a segunda questão - classes de patente mais dinâmicas, que se mostrarem com o crescimento mais acelerado, poderão se tornar as tecnologias mais importantes no futuro? - Identificamos duas classes que no momento concentram o maior número de pedidos concedidos: G (Física) e H (Eletricidade) detentoras de quatro das cinco maiores subclasses apontadas no banco de dados do IP5. Entre as subclasses, as mais frequentes são H04 (Técnica de comunicação elétrica) e H01 (Elementos Elétricos Básicos), que totalizam 20% das patentes concedidas. A subclasse H02 (Produção; conversão ou distribuição de energia elétrica) se apresenta como a mais preponderante neste cenário, com média de 6174 patentes concedidas entre os escritórios IP5 e uma taxa de crescimento acima dos 11%, apontando uma procura considerável de patenteamento no setor de energia elétrica em escala global. O caso mais concreto de catch-up identificado foi o da China que apresentou a maior TMCA nos dados do USPTO entre 1995 e 2005 (26,8%). É também o escritório Chinês (CNIPA) que concentra a maior parte das patentes concedidas da subclasse H02, com 40% das patentes. This exploratory study aims to assess key aspects evolution of the patent system on a global scale. For the first question - will there be a catch-up between patents per capitas? - We found, in relation to the evolution of patents in different countries, a convergence trend. If this movement continues, the gap between countries with lower patent application volume and countries with higher volume will be reduced. For the second question - Patent classes receiving the highest number of applications may become the most important technologies in the future? - we identified two classes that currently concentrate the largest number of granted applications: G (Physics) and H (Electricity), which present four among the five largest subclasses according to the IP5 database. Among subclasses, H04 (Electric Communication Technique) and H01 (Basic Electric Elements) are the most frequent, totaling 20% of granted patents. The subclass H02 (Generation; Conversion or Distribution of Electric Power) showed an average of 6174 granted patents and a growth rate over 11%, which indicates an increased demand on a global scale for patents in the electric power sector. The strongest catch up occurred in China, which presented the highest CAGR in the period of 1995-2005 (26.8%). info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Projekto tikslas – identifikuoti ekonominės konvergencijos veiksnius Lietuvoje, apskaičiuoti ekonominės konvergencijos indeksą ir išsiaiškinti didžiausią poveikį šalies ekonominės konvergencijos indekso pasikeitimams darančius veiksnius. Projekto uždaviniai: 1. Charakterizuoti Lietuvos ekonominės konvergencijos svarbą ir kitimo problematiką; 2. Išanalizuoti ekonominės konvergencijos veiksnių teorinius aspektus; 3. Parengti Lietuvos ekonominės konvergencijos veiksnių tyrimo metodologiją; 4. Apskaičiuoti ekonominės konvergencijos indeksą ir ištirti didžiausią įtaką Lietuvos ekonominės konvergencijos pasikeitimui darančius veiksnius, lyginant su Latvijos, Estijos ir Europos Sąjungos šalių narių vidurkiu., The general project aim – to commit comprehensive research in order to clarify the factors of economic convergence to members of Europe Union and evaluate the most relevant positively affecting impact factor on the individual country economic convergence index. Project tasks: 1. To characterize the importance of Lithuanian economic convergence; 2. To analyze theoretical aspects of economic convergence factors; 3. To prepare the methodology of research of Lithuanian economic convergence factors; 4. To investigate the factors influencing the change of economic convergence in Lithuania.

This paper examines the patterns of growth of Poland, and its transition into high-income status over the past two decades from a macro and micro perspective. It benchmarks Polish performance with that observed in established high-income countries, and with that of others that have been trapped in middle--income levels and examines the role that integration into the EU had on growth. The analysis reveals, first, that Poland’s growth process has been accompanied by a process of diversification of assets, including institutions, physical and human capital. Second, that the progressive integration into the EU bloc boosted growth and productivity because of three keyfactors: (i) increased openness to trade, investment and talent, (ii) increased domestic competition, and regulatory harmonization with EU, (iii) increased certainty in reforms, through a commitment to EU-institutions. Third, that for full convergence to high-income levels, Polish firms need to increase their innovative capacities. The paper extracts lessons applicable to other economies trapped in middle-income levels, as well as to Poland itself to consolidate growth looking forward.

Bu tez Türkiye bölgelerinin yakınsamasını neoklasik dışsal büyüme modeli ve içsel büyüme modeli çerçevesinde açıklayıcı istatistiklerden de faydalanarak analiz etmektedir. Dışsal model kısmının sonuçlarına göre Türkiye'de bölgeler arasında bir yakınsama olduğu söylenebilir. Ancak inceleme döneminde yakınsama eğilimin arttığı önemli bir kriz (2008 krizi) yer almaktadır. Ayrıca açıklayıcı istatistikler de kriz döneminde yakınsama hızının arttığını göstermiştir. Ancak kriz dönemi dışında Türkiye'de bölgeler arası bir yakınsamanın veya ıraksamanın olduğunu söylemek mümkün değildir. Bu nedenle, çıkarılan ana sonuç, kriz döneminin bölgesel gelir farklılıklarını kapatma açısından pozitif bir etki yaptığıdır. Buna ek olarak, içsel model kısmında AR-GE personelinin toplam istihdamdaki güncel payı ile bölgelerin büyümesine negatif bir etki yaptığı bulunmuştur. Ayrıca, AR-GE personelinin oranını arttırmaya dayanan bir yakalama stratejisinin de bölgelerin büyümesine olumsuz bir eti yaptığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bunun yanında, incelme döneminde doğu bölgesi batı bölgesinden daha fazla büyüdüğü ve AR-GE personelinin etkisi doğu bölgesi için daha negatif olduğu için toplam istihdamdaki AR-GE personel oranının artması bölgeler arası büyüme farklılıklarını kapatmaktadır. Diğer taraftan, bölgenin AR-GE personelinin toplam istihdamdaki payı ile ekonomik büyümesi arasında U-şeklinde bir ilişki saptanmıştır. Ancak yakınsama konusunda, görece zengin batının AR-GE personelinden pozitif etki almaya daha yakın olması ve görece fakir doğunun düşük AR-GE personel payı ile AR-GE personelinden daha negatif etkilenmesi, doğu bölgesinin AR-GE personeli payını arttırmaya yönelik bir yakalama stratejisinin bölgesel gelir farklılıklarını kapatamayacağını göstermektedir. Ayrıca, doğu bölgesi AR-GE personelinden pozitif etki almaya çok uzaktır. Bu nedenle, eğer doğu bölgesinde AR-GE personel payını arttırmaya yönelik bir yakalama politikası üzerinde ısrar edilirse bu yakınsama yerine ıraksamaya sebebiyet verebilir. This thesis analyzes convergence among regions of Turkey with neoclassical exogenous growth perspective and endogenous growth perspective incorporating with descriptive statistics. According to results obtained from exogenous model part, there is a tendency of convergence among regions of Turkey. However, there is an important crisis (2008 crisis) in the investigation period in which the tendency of convergence increases. Besides, descriptive statistics show that during the crisis, the speed of convergence increases, however, apart from crisis period it is impossible to state that there is convergence or divergence among regions of Turkey. Therefore, the main conclusion is that crisis has a positive impact on closing income differences among regions. Furthermore, in endogenous model section, it is found that R&D personnel has negative impact on regions' economic growth with its current share in total employment. Moreover, catch-up strategy based on increasing the ratio of R&D personnel also has negative impact on regions' economic growth. Besides, increasing the share of R&D personnel in total employment decreases the growth differences between regions by affecting east region more negatively since in the investigation period east region grows more than west region. On the other side, U-shaped relation between the share of R&D personnel in total employment and economic growth is found. However, when it comes to convergence issue, since rich west is closer to take a positive effect from R&D personnel and with relatively low share of R&D personnel the economic growth of east region is more negatively affected by R&D personnel, by applying a strategy based on increasing the share of R&D personnel, east region cannot close the income differences. Moreover, east region is far away from taking positive effect from R&D personnel so that convergence policy insists on increasing the share of R&D personnel in east region may cause divergence rather than convergence. 150

İş grupları literatürde önem taşıyıp uzun yıllardır etraflıca tartışılmaktadır. İş gruplarının varlığının ekonomiler üzerinde yadsınamaz önemi söz konusudur. Özellikle Türkiye gibi gelişen ekonomilerde iş gruplarının varoluşu, gelişimi, uzun dönemler boyunca ekonominin kalkınmasına katkıları dikkat çekmektedir. Bir iş grubuna bağlı firmalar birbirlerine resmi ve gayri resmi bağlarla bağlıdır ve benzer eylemlerde bulunmaktadırlar. Çalışmada panel regresyon analizi yöntemi ile 2008-2017 arası dönemde, BIST'te kote olan firmalar incelenerek bu firmaların büyümelerinin iş grubunda bulunmaları dolayısıyla yakınsama gösterip göstermediğinin ekonometrik olarak ortaya konulması amaçlanmaktadır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda BİST'te kote olan 253 firmanın (grup firma ve grup firması olmayanlarda dahil olmak üzere) yıllık verileri kullanılarak Stata 14.0 yazılımı ile panel regresyon analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Firma verileri elde edilirken verilerde süreklilik esas alınmıştır. Firmaların büyümelerini etkileyen firma bazlı finansal göstergelerin dahil edildiği bir panel veri oluşturularak ekonometrik olarak hipotezler test edilmiştir. Yapılan analiz bulguları yakınsama analizi çerçevesinde değerlendirilmiştir. Net satışlar, firma yaşı, toplam varlık ve net kâr değişkenleri ile incelenen analiz sonuçlarına göre, BİST'te iş grubu bünyesinde faaliyet gösteren firmaların büyümeleri arasında yakınsama olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Business groups have extensively been reviewed in literature over many years. The existence of business groups has undeniable importance on economies. Specifically in emerging economies such as Turkey, the existence and development of business groups and their contribution to the development of the economy over long periods are remarkable. In this research, the firms quoted in Istanbul Stock Exchange (Borsa Istanbul) have examined with panel regression analysis method in the period between 2008-2017. It is aimed to reveal whether their growth shows convergence due to their presence in the business group. Panel regression analysis was performed with Stata 14.0 software using annual data of 253 companies (including group companies and non-group companies). While obtaining data, continuity has been used as criteria. A panel of data was created by including firm-based financial indicators that affect the growth of firms and econometric hypotheses were tested. Net sales, firm age, total assets and net profit variables were analyzed. The findings of the analysis were evaluated within the framework of convergence analysis. According to the results of the analysis, there is a convergence between the growth of the firms operating in the business groups in Istanbul Stock Exchange. 152

Bu tez çalışması ekonomik büyüme üzerine üç makaleden oluşmaktadır. Birinci makale, Cobb-Douglas (CD) ile Sabit İkame Esnekliği (CES) üretim fonksiyonlarını ampirik açıdan karşılaştırmaktadır. Elde edilen bulgular, CD üretim fonksiyonunun ülkeler arası büyüme analizi için yetersiz kaldığını göstermekte olup, CD tanımını, CES üretim fonksiyonunun özel bir durumu olarak, reddetmektedir. İkinci makale, ikame esnekliğinin düşük ve yüksek gelirli ülkeler arasında farklılaşıp farklılaşmadığını incelemektedir. Bulgular, ikame esnekliğinin `1` olmadığını ve ülke grupları arasında farklılaştığını ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bulgu, üretim faktörleri arasındaki ilişkinin, CD tanımı tarafından öngörülenin aksine, daha tamamlayıcı ya da ikame edilebilir olabileceğine işaret etmektedir. Son olarak, üçüncü makale, yakınsama hızının ikame esnekliğinde farklılaşmaya izin verilmesine nasıl tepki vereceğini araştırmaktadır. Elde edilen sonuç, CD tanımından, ikame esnekliğinin `1`' den farklı değerler alabildiği CES tanımına geçişin yakınsama hızında değişimlere neden olabileceğini ortaya koymaktadır. Araştırmamız üç makale için de birbirini izleyen iki aşamayı içermektedir. İlk olarak, Solow modeli, Mankiw-Romer-Weil (1992) takip edilerek, iki farklı senaryo için (temel ve beşerî sermayenin yer aldığı genişletilmiş) CD ve CES üretim fonksiyonları altında çözülmektedir. Durağan durumdaki etkin-işgücü birimi başına çıktı değerleri elde edildikten sonra, ikinci olarak, regresyon denklemleri türetilmekte ve yatay kesit düzey ve büyüme regresyonları yatay-kesit verisiyle tahmin edilmektedir. Tüm bu aşamalar (i) üretimde girdi-çıktı ilişkilerinin yapısını; (ii) üretim fonksiyonlarının doğrusal olmama durumunu; (iii) heterojen modelleri; (iv) ikame esnekliği ile gelişmiş seviyesi arasındaki ilişkiyi; (v) yakınsama analizinde ikame esnekliğinin önemini daha iyi anlamamıza yardımcı olmaktadır. This dissertation consists of three essays on economic growth. The first essay empirically compares the Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) specification against the Cobb-Douglas (CD). The findings make it hard to justify the use of the CD production function for cross-country analysis of growth and the CD specification is rejected over the more general CES specification. The second essay examines whether elasticity of substitution varies between the low- and high-income countries. The findings suggest that elasticity of substitution is not unitary and varies among country groups. This implies that factors of production can be regarded as either more complementary or substitutable to production than implied by CD specification. Lastly, third essay investigates how the speed of convergence responds to the allowing for differentiation in elasticity of substitution. It is found that slight departures from CD to CES with elasticity of substitution that is only slightly different from unity can lead to variations in the speed of convergence. Our investigation for three essays involves two sequential steps. First, we solve the Solow model under the CD and CES specification for two different scenarios: basic model and augmented model which includes human capital in the Mankiw-Romer-Weil (1992) sense. After solving for the steady-state output per unit of augmented labour, we, secondly, derive the regression equations and estimate cross-country level and growth regressions in cross-sectional data. All these steps help us to better understand (i) the structure of input-output production relation; (ii) nonlinearity in the aggregate production functions; (iii) the patterns of heterogeneity; (iv) the relationship between elasticity of substitution and stage of development; (v) the importance of elasticity of substitution in the convergence analysis. 153

Yakınsama hipotezi, iktisadi büyüme ve bölgesel iktisat literatürünün en önemli araştırmakonularından biridir. Mevcut ampirik literatür incelendiğinde, yakınsama hipotezinin genellikleülkeler arası araştırmalara konu olduğu dikkati çekmektedir. Ancak 1990'lardan sonra yakınsamahipotezinin veri bir ülkede, bölgeler itibarıyla geçerliliğinin araştırıldığı görülebilmektedir. Buçalışmada, Türkiye'nin bölgeleri arasında yakınsama olgusunun geçerli olup olmadığıaraştırılmaktadır. Bu amaçla Türkiye'nin İstatistiki Bölge Birimleri Sınıflandırması (İBBS) Düzey2 altındaki 26 bölge verileri 2004-2017 dönemi itibariyle üç aşamada analize tabi tutulmuştur.Birinci aşamada genel GSYİH ile tarım, sanayi ve hizmetler sektörü GSYİH'leri panel birim kökyöntemleri ile test edilerek yakınsamanın olmadığı bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır. İkinci aşamada, serilerbelirlenen lider bölge serilerine oranlanmıştır. Oluşan serilere panel birim kök testleri uygulanmışve yalnızca tarım ve sanayi sektöründe yakınsamanın olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Son aşamada ise 26alt bölgenin genel GSYİH ile tarım, sanayi ve hizmetler GSYİH'de lider olan bölgelere yakınsamagösterip göstermediği bireysel panel birim kök testleri ile incelenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular, genelGSYİH için dört bölgenin, tarım sektörü için on bir, sanayi sektörü için beş ve hizmetler sektörüiçin ise dokuz bölgenin lider bölgelerine yakınsadığını göstermiştir.Anahtar Kelimeler: Yakınsama, Bölgesel İktisat Convergence hypothesis is one of the most important research topics of economic growth andregional economic literature. When the current empirical literature is examined, it is seen that theconvergence hypothesis is generally subject of across countries. However, it can be seen that after1990s, the validity of the convergence hypothesis has been investigated for the regions in a givencountry. In this study, it is investigated whether convergence phenomenon is valid for the regionsof Turkey. For this purpose, the regional data of Turkey's Nomancelature of Territorial Units forStatistics (NUTS) Level 2 for 2004-2017 period were investigated under three stages. In the firststage, by testing aggregated GDP and agriculture, industry and services sectors' GDPs under panelunit root methods it is found that there has been no convergence. In the second stage, the serieswere proportioned to the leading region series. Panel unit root tests were applied to the seriesformed and convergence was found only for the industrial and agricultural sectors. In the last stage,whether the aggregate GDP, agriculture, industry and service GDP's of 26 sub-regionsconvergence with the leading regions was investigated by employing individual panel unit roottests. The findings of this study indicate that four regions for aggregate GDP, eleven regions foragriculture, five regions for industry and nine regions for service convergence with leading regions,respectively.Key Words: Convergence, Regional Economics 81

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether several groups of European countries are on track for real “conditional” economic convergence in per capita income and the likely speed of convergence. The paper focusses also on the changes of the convergence processes over time. Design/methodology/approach Unlike the simple “absolute convergence”, it explores the concept of “conditional” or “club” convergence. Moreover, it adopts the approach of extending the univariate model to take into account the panel dimension over an extended time interval and endogeneity. Findings A process of real economic convergence has characterised the period under investigation (1995–2016), but, in general, the size and significance of the parameter is greater for the wide European Union (EU) area (EU25 and above) rather than the Eurozone (EZ). However, the crises occurred after 2008 caused most of such lower convergence in the Euro area. Research limitations/implications This paper gives an estimate of the speed/time needed to several groups of European countries (EZ, in particular) to achieve real economic convergence. Future research could further develop the “stochastic” convergence concept. Originality/value This is an analysis of convergence in enlarging EU and EZ for an extended period (including the big crisis period and the subsequent recovery). It shows that EZ experienced a drop in the speed of real convergence after 2008 and converge at lower speed than the EU. As a consequence, a specific budget for EZ would be important to provide adjustment mechanisms after potentially large shocks.

Neoklasik büyüme teorisi, zengin ve fakir ülkeler arasındaki bir yakalamayı öngörürken, içsel büyüme teorisi yazarları, büyüme sürecindeki ekonomik politikaların önemli rollerini vurgulamaktadır. Bununla birlikte, gerçeklerin gelişmekte olan ülkelerindeki farklılıklar ve zayıf ekonomik performanslar ile tutarlı olduğu görünmektedir. Bu tez, Batı Afrika ülkelerinde düşük gelir seviyelerinin belirgin bir şekilde devam etmesi ve aralarındaki gelir farklılıklarının devam etmesini incelemektedir. Batı Afrika ülkelerinde ekonomik performansın karşılaştırmalı bir analizinin yapılması hedeflenmektedir. Bu çalışma, büyüme analizinin neredeyse tüm yönlerini göz önüne almaktadır: yakınsama, üretkenlik (prodüktivite) ve büyüme belirleyicileri. Benin, Fildişi Sahilleri, Gana ve Togo gibi bazı ortak özelliklere sahip dört ülkeye özel olarak odaklanan 12 Batı Afrika ülkesini kapsamaktadır. Çalışmamızın amacına ulaşmak için hem tanımlayıcı istatistikler hem de ekonometrik yaklaşım kullanılmıştır. Veri analizi için üç farklı ekonometrik model temel teşkil etmiştir. Bunlar, Yakınsama Modeli, Stokastik Sınır Modeli ve Batı Afrika'daki yakınsama sürecini, üretkenliği ve belirleyicilerini analiz etmeyi sağlayan Havuzlanmış Ortalama Grubu (PMG) tahmin edicileridir. Çalışmanın sonuçları, Batı Afrika ülkelerinin tek bir kalıcı duruma doğru yakınsama hipotezini geçersiz kılmaktadır. Bölgede iki yakınsama grubunun varlığı ve Benin, Fildişi Sahili, Gana ve Togo sabit durumlarının özellikleri belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, üretkenliğin bir ülkeden diğerine ve zamanla değiştiği tespit edilmiştir. Sonuçlar Fildişi Sahilleri'nin Batı Afrika bölgesindeki üretim sürecinde en verimli ülkeler arasında olduğunu göstermektedir. Son olarak, sonuçlar, uzun vadede, doğrudan yabancı yatırım, iç yatırım, devlet harcamaları ve dışa açıklık gibi faktörlerin Batı Afrika ülkelerindeki büyümeyi etkilediğini göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte, kısa vadeli analizler, büyüme belirleyicilerinin bir ülkeden diğerine önemli ölçüde değiştiğini göstermektedir. Bu çalışma, Batı Afrika ülkelerinin ekonomilerine ilişkin heterojenliğe ışık tutmaktadır. The neoclassical theory of growth predicts a catch-up between rich and poor countries while the authors of endogenous growth theory emphasize the conditional aspect of this catch-up by shedding light on the important roles of economic policies in the process of growth. However, facts seem to be consistent with the persistence of countries' differences and weak economic performance, especially in developing countries. This thesis is motivated by the apparent persistent of low-income levels in West African countries and the persistence of income gaps between them. It aims to make a comparative analysis of economic performance in West African countries. This study takes into account almost all aspects of growth analysis: convergence, technical efficiency (productivity) and growth determinants. It covers 12 West African countries, with a particular focus on four countries, namely Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo which have several common characteristics. To achieve the objective of our study, both descriptive statistics and econometric approach were used. Three different econometric models served as a basis for the data analysis. These are the Convergence Model, the Stochastic Frontier Model and the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimators that allow to analyse, respectively, the convergence process, the technical efficiency and the determinants of growth in West Africa. The results of the study invalidate the hypothesis of convergence of the West African countries towards a single steady state. It allows to see the presence of two convergence clubs in the area and to determine the characteristics of the steady states of Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. Also, we found that technical efficiency varies from one country to another and over time. The results show that Cote d'Ivoire is among the most efficient countries in the production process in the West African region. Finally, the results show also that, in the long run, factors such as FDI, domestic investment, government spending and trade openness affect growth in West African countries. However, the short-term analysis shows that the determinants of growth vary considerably from one country to another. This study shed light on the heterogeneity regarding West African countries' economies 220

Le 22 février 2019, la France et l'Allemagne ont diffusé le texte arrêté en commun la veille sur les principales caractéristiques d'un instrument budgétaire de convergence et de compétitivité pour la zone euro. Ce document vise à nourrir les réflexions de l'Eurogroupe sur le sujet, ainsi que le Sommet de la zone euro de décembre 2018 en a chargé ce dernier.

The present study represents an empirical analysis of the well-being convergence between EU Member States, using a set of 14 socio-economic indicators, grouped into 4 categories: population health status; financial situation of households; social conditions; education. To these we added the gross domestic product per capita, for comparison between economic and welfare convergence. We also aim to highlight the dynamics of the gap between the Eastern and Western European countries, as well as the evolution of convergence within these two groups. For the last 10 years analyzed, more precisely in the period 2007-2017, the calculation of standard deviation indicates a tendency of convergence within the EU, for 11 of the 14 welfare indicators analyzed. The variation within the group of Eastern European countries is higher than that recorded between the Western European countries, in 9 of 14 indicators. There is also a tendency for convergence between the two groups although, for some indicators (including GDP), the trends corresponding to their averages tend to remain parallel.

El ISBN y el ISSN corresponden a la versión electrónica del documento El pilar europeo de derechos sociales está diseñado para servir de brújula en un renovado proceso de convergencia al alza entre los Estados miembros que lleve hacia unas mejores condiciones de vida y de trabajo. Va acompañado de un cuadro de indicadores sociales para monitorizar los progresos realizados por los Estados miembros. Este resumen de políticas presenta los resultados de una investigación sobre los patrones de convergencia al alza de los indicadores primarios del cuadro de indicadores sociales y la relación entre la convergencia y el ciclo económico del periodo de 2008 a 2018. Los resultados muestran que, aunque la crisis económica que afectó a Europa a partir de 2008 ralentizó la convergencia de los Estados miembros en algunos indicadores, se ha restablecido la convergencia al alza en varios de ellos, incluidos los indicadores sobre el empleo y el riesgo de pobreza. Si bien el análisis pone de manifiesto diferentes dinámicas de convergencia al alza para la mayoría de los indicadores, algunas muy estables y otras más inestables, son pocos los indicadores que siguen mostrando una tendencia a la baja a lo largo de la década.

Traballo Fin de Grao de Economía O estudo das disparidades entre as provincias galegas permite afirmar que se está a producir, nas últimas décadas, un proceso de converxencia en Galicia, dándose un achegamento de Lugo e Ourense cara Pontevedra e A Coruña. Sen embargo, este fenómeno non se debe a un dinamismo maior das provincias orientais senón á perda constante de peso demográfico, concentrándose cada vez máis a actividade económica na costa atlántica. Descendo ao nivel comarcal, as disparidades son maiores dada a heteroxeneidade que presentan mais, ao igual que no caso das provincias, deuse unha converxencia case continuada que se viu interrompida na etapa de crise, volvendo a converxer nos anos da fase de recuperación económica. A todo isto súmaselle a acción pública como factor atenuante das disparidades que se ve reflexada na redución da fenda, tanto entre provincias coma entre comarcas, ao pasar das Rendas Primarias á Renda Dispoñible Bruta.

We examine the mechanism by which human capital affects economic growth and convergence, using provincial level panel data from China. We specify alternative measures of human capital and apply them to an enhanced growth model which we estimate parametrically, nonparametrically, and with a threshold model. Our results show that economic convergence is pronouncedly conditional on human capital across all our measures of human capital. The positive "benefit of being backward" due to lower initial income is almost trumped by the negative impact of low levels of human capital among the poorest areas.

This paper compares and contrasts the policy reform experiences of Poland and Turkey en route to high income. For both countries, globalization has presented unprecedented opportunities to catch up, unleased by integration into European and global markets and the establishment of macroeconomic discipline. These opportunities were reinforced by the creation of economic institutions to strengthen competition and support private entrepreneurship, catalyzed by the convergence process with the European Union. Both Poland and Turkey have shown resilience following the 2008 global crisis, but continued success will require renewed structural reform measures. Dealing with the challenging of aging while at the same time finding a way to sustain productivity growth through greater domestic innovation is shaping Poland’s policy agenda. Turkey's structural and demographic potential as well as its strategic location between the markets of Europe and Asia offers attractive value proposition to investors, which could be further enhanced with improvements in business regulations and economic governance.